


A Modus Vivendi

by holyhael



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Episode: s03e10 Dream a Little Dream, Gen, Missing Scene, Women of Supernatural
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-20 00:19:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2408246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holyhael/pseuds/holyhael
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The best lies are made up of the truth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Modus Vivendi

**Author's Note:**

> for [women4spn](http://women4spn.tumblr.com)'s ruby appreciation week, day #2: badass ruby
> 
> set during 3.10 dream a little dream of me. my headcanon for how bela learned the winchesters were in possession of the colt, regardless of canon details (which i don't remember so)

“Goodbye, Dean,” Bela says and ends the call before he can make more than a whimper of protest. Bloody Winchesters. They’re openly hostile toward her, and yet they have the gall to call her in the middle of a seance to ask for her help. She has more important things to do than save their asses. Like saving her own, for example.

And damn, the spirit she was communing with was a fickle one to catch. Bela’ll be long dead before it would consider giving her another chance, and by then it’ll be too late.

She licks her fingers and pinches them on the candle flames, all the while cursing the Winchesters. Maybe she should plant a hex bag on them, or find a spell that would make them forget her existence. They’re only hinderances; Bela won’t miss their company.

As she’s sweeping up the herbs scattered on the tabletop, a voice pipes up behind her.

“You missed a big opportunity there, curls.” Bela spins around to see a woman leaning casually against the door, blocking the only reasonable means of escape. Unarmed and disadvantaged, Bela stares at the woman. No, she’s not a woman; she’s something else altogether. Fuck, Bela should have been more concerned with redrawing her protection sigils, the ones she nullified in order to commune with the spirit, the ones she should have restored instead of mentally cursing the Winchesters. Oh, that was a stupid move. And now she’s going to pay the price.

“What do you want?” Bela demands. She inches to her right. If she can grab her gun, at least she’ll stand a chance.

“I’m not your enemy,” the woman - for lack of a better word at the moment - says. Her eyes cast to the bed, where Bela’s gun lies beneath the pillow. “If it’ll make you feel better, so ahead.” She shrugs. “It won’t do you much good.”

“I don’t see you doing much good either,” Bela retorts. Her fingers flex; she wishes she had her gun, but she doesn’t want to act like she needed this thing’s permission to grab it.

“Give me a moment. I’ll make this meet cute worth your while.”

Bela flex her jaw, takes a deep breath through her nose. “Let’s start the the basics. Who are you?”

“Ruby,” she answers quickly. “Next question.”

“What do you want?”

Ruby smiles to herself. Pushing off from the door, she walks lazily forward. Her arms cross over her chest. “I need your help.”

Bela almost lets her guard down, almost moans loudly at the N word paired with the H word. She’s been pestered to save someone’s skin one time too many lately; she has her own skin to save, which nobody’s helping her out with, by the way. Bela doesn’t have time to give charity.

“Listen,” Ruby placates. She stops at a reasonable distance from Bela. She’s a couple inches shorter than Bela. “I’m a demon of my word; if I said I’ll make it worth your while, I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Demon?” Bela repeats incredulously. Of all the creatures to come looking for a hand, this is the most laughable. “Sweetheart, unless you can pull some strings and break my deal, I’m not listening to another word you say. I’ve had it up to my neck with your lot, and I won’t go up to my ears.”

Ruby exhales heavily, as if to calm herself. “Only one demon can break the deal, and I’m not her. But I can give you the next best thing. You’ve heard of the Colt, haven’t you?”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Bela scoffs. “I’ve only been trying to find the damn thing for the past decade.” Realization dawns on her then, and dread coils heavily in her stomach. “No. You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“Afraid not.” Ruby smiles wickedly. “Here’s what’s gonna happen: you show up on the Winchesters’ doorstep with the finest African Dream Root you can find, liberate the gun from their arsenal, and go on your merry way.”

“What’s in it for you?” Bela asks. No demon would do this without an agenda.

Ruby shrugs. “I just need the gun out of the Hardy Boys’ hands. And who better to take it than the one person I know who needs it most.”

She itches to take Ruby’s offer. That gun is the only thing short of a miracle that’ll weasel Bela out of her deal. But she could very well be walking into a trap here. Why would a demon want to help her out anyway? After everything they’ve done to her, after everything she’s dished out in return. And why now? Why couldn’t Ruby have come around months or even years ago, long before the nick of time?

It all seems too convenient, too easy.

“There must be a catch,” Bela says. She flicks her gaze up and down Ruby’s body: doesn’t appear special, although it is exceedingly attractive.

Ruby shakes her head. “There is none. All I want is the gun out of the boys’ hands for the next couple weeks. Or until Hell freezes over, it doesn’t matter.”

Bela deliberates some more.

“They’re in Pittsburg. I fixed a hunt for them up there, and unless they get their hands on some African Dream Root, it looks like they’ll be there a while, but not forever. This is your only shot, Bela. Take it.”

Ruby’s eyes are pleading.

After only another moment of hesitation, Bela extends her hand. “You’ve… well, it’s not a deal; I’m done making deals with demons.”

“An arrangement,” Ruby suggests. “A modus vivendi.” She takes Bela’s hand in her warm one and shakes.

“A modus vivendi,” repeats Bela and grins.


End file.
